New, improved, and expanded 'Dangermousie's fave kdramas' pusher/rec list
I have decided that it was about time for me to update and expand my favorite kdrama primer (which I first did some month ago). Not only were there a bunch of kdramas I wanted to add to the list, but I wanted to rearrange the order of some of the dramas on the list already (except for the first three or so, the placement of the other ones within the rankings is fluid and moves based on my mood) and very much expand it.
So behind the cut are 20 (actually 21, because of a tie) of my favorite kdramas, with summaries, reasons why, pics and vids. I have tried to keep it as unspoilery as possible.
No kdrama I have not finished is on the list because I want to have seen the complete drama before evaluating the fave status (possible future candidates to be put in that aren't there because of it are Mawang and MISA). Also, I watch a lot of dramas, but I have hardly seen all or most kdrama out there, and there are some very famous ones I have never seen. I am always open to recs and am always looking for said recs.
Now, without too much further verbosity, Dangermousie's 20 or so favorite kdramas list, new and improved.
(1) THE LEGEND (2007) (24 episodes)
Starring: Bae Yong Joon, Li Ji Ah, Moon So Ri, Yoon Tae Young, Lee Phillip
Plot: 2000 years before the story started, a god came down to earth to create a prosperous and large land of 'Jooshin.' It didn't really work out, the land fractured, and the god left, leaving behind four sacred symbols which have supernatural properties, and which can only be activated by 'the Jooshin King,' a prophesied individual who will be able to control them and reunite Jooshin. Fast-forward to the 'present' and the contentious, poisonous court of a small nation of Gogureyo. Our main character, Dam Deok, is (or maybe not) the prophesied Jooshin King. He is, however, also a neglected prince of the nation, whose father is a weak ruler who tries to protect his son from the powerful Yon family (who married the King's sister and who believe their own son. Ho Gae, a talented and warlike individual, is the true Jooshin King) by asking him to pretend to be stupid and weak. Will Dam Deok ever realize who he is? Will he reunite Jooshin? Find the symbols and their guardians? Fight off the Hwachun, a supernatural tribe that also eagerly awaits the return of the Jooshin King, but for its own, nepharious purposes? Will he find friendship and love and heartbreak? Yes, of course. And what about the supposed guardians of the four symbols, especially two women who do not know they are sisters (Kiha, kidnapped by the Hwachun and brought up to be a fire priestess, and Sujini, a tomboy, hard-drinking archer), and either one of whom not only possesses the power over the most dangerous symbol of all, but can also end the world with her power?
Why: This drama has finally replaced Mars as my favorite drama of all time. If you know me, and my Mars love, that is quite a feat. It is incredibly complicated and cleverly written, coming across as an adaptation of a really superb fantasy novel (it isn’t, it’s an original script). It is heroic fantasy that never forgets its characters and relationships in going for big battles and it is a character study that never forgets adrenaline and eye-popping visuals in its depiction of complicated people. It has romance, battles, humor, strong women, amazing men, and arguably my favorite drama hero of all time. And oh, the gorgeous understatedness of the OTP!
Favorite Moment: Either the polo game, thye fight with Ho Gae, Dam Deok and the enemies in the small town, DD riding into an enemy fortress alone to get Sujini out, the scene with Sujini putting the armor on him before leaving, the scene when he finds her again. OK, clearly too many.
Vid:
Dam Deok/Sujini MV:
General MV:
(2) CAPITAL SCANDAL (2007) (16 episodes)
Starring: Kang Ji Hwan, Han Ji Min, Ryu Jin, Han Go Eun
Plot: In 1930s Korea under Japanese occupation, the dapper Sun Woo Wan, arguably the Capital's biggest flirt, crosses paths with the idealistic, old-fashioned book-seller/teacher Yeo Kyong. Yeo Kyong is someone who wants to join the rebel underground, someone unswerving and as involved in the world as Wan is not. But after a series of chance, hilarious, unlucky encounters with her, Wan makes a bet when drunk with his friends: he will transform the unfashionable Yeo Kyong into a 'proper' girl. Or will he be transformed instead?
Why: This is the drama that finally joined My Girl at the top spot. How come? It's lightning-paced, both hilarious and heart-breaking, clever and emotionally pitch-perfect. There are no love triangles, but two awesome love stories, and friendships, and family bonds, and rebellion. It is, simply, one of the best things you will ever see.
Favorite Moment: Wan teaching Yeo Kyong to waltz.
Vid:
Wan/Yeo Kyung:
General:
(2 tie) MY GIRL (2005) (16 episodes)
Starring: Lee Da Hae, Lee Dong Wook, Lee Jun Ki, Park Si Yeon
Plot: Our heroine, Yu-Rin, is plucky and resourceful. She has to be, what with lack of stability courtesy of a good-natured but useless father. One day, her paths cross with Gong-Chan, the manager of the super lux hotel, and the member of the upper crust. Gong-Chan is serious, driven, reserved and a bit of a workaholic, nice but nobody's fool. He is also a very good grandson to a dying grandfather, whose last days he is trying to make happy by locating the Old Gentleman's long lost granddaughter (Gong-Chan's cousin), daughter of Gong-Chan's aunt whom Grandpa disowned on her hasty marriage. and Gong-Chan is feeling hopeless with no leads at all, desperate enough to maybe hire someone for the role...
Why: It is madcap funny, it is heart-breaking, it never slows down its pace, the heroine is beyond adorable, and the hero very functional, and is that rare type of somewhat serious and stable but yet awesome. And oh, my OTP. They own me like very few OTPs do. And then there is also Lee Jun Ki being so perfect.
Favorite Scene: Gong-Chan telling Yu-Rin he didn't leave for Jeju because he is 'snowed in' and the whole surrounding scene.
Vid:
Gong-Chan/Yu-Rin. One of my fave OTPs ever:
General:
(4) A LOVE TO KILL (2005) (16 episodes)
Starring: Rain, Shin Min Ah
Plot: Bokgu (Rain) is a lowlife boxer, who decides to get close to and ruin a young actress, ES, to avenge the fact that his brother was supposedly toyed with by her and ended up in a coma because of her (which isn't true but he doesn't know it). But of course he falls in love with her himself.
Why: Not only is it one of the most gorgeously shot and acted dramas out there, but its harshness ,and yet romantic intensity and beauty reminded me of one of those 19th century Russian novels I used to read. This is seriously incredible.
Favorite Scene: He is being beaten into unconsciousness by goons and she tries to shield him so they start whaling on her, so even though he is barely conscious, he rolls over to shield her with his own body.
Vid:
General:
Shippy:
(5) GOONG (2006) (24 episodes)
(no, the baby is not a spoiler. It was one of those 'what if' fantasy inserts they did)
Starring: Joo Ji-Hoon, Yoon Eun-Hye, Kim Jeong Hoon, Song Ji Hyo
Plot: In this AU world, where Korea is a constitutional monarchy, plucky and sweet but not brainiac commoner Chae-Gyung (YEH) finds out she is actually betrothed to her co-student, the haughty, reserved Prince Shin (JJH). A lovely fate except not only is life in the palace something no normal person would want, being rigid and confining, but Chae-Gyung just overheard the Prince propose to another woman. Can the bubbly, cheerful Chae-Gyung and the withdrawn, sarcastic Shin ever learn to tolerate each other, let alone fall in love? What do you think?
Why: Goong can always make me smile. seriously. It is just an automatic mood booster. YEH is one of the most adorable, lovable heroines out in the drama world, and JJH is not only scarily good-looking, but it totally my fictional type: a dysfunctionally icy woobie. In fact, I came for Chae-Gyung but stayed for Shin, who has a wonderful character gradual reveal and growth. I am such a sucker for extravert girl saving introvert boy through cheeriness story. Oh, and the girls' costumes! The sets! The kiss to end all kisses! It does get a bit draggy in the middle, but not much, and hey, you can always stare at the art design during those times.
Favorite Scene: I will be like every fangirl out there, and say THE KISS. You know which one I mean.
Vid:
A very sweet Shin/CG one:
Another adorable one. Oh, they are so one of my major OTPs.
(6) TREE OF HEAVEN (2006) (10 episodes)
(still courtesy of alexandral)
Starring: Lee Wan, Park Shin Hye
Plot: This angsty, gorgeously-filmed short drama, set in Japan, tells the story of a forbidden, and ultimately doomed, attraction between two brand-new stepsiblings: perky, half-Korean Hana, 18 when the story starts, and her brand-new stepbrother, the mute, odd Yoon-Suh, 20-year-old Korean son of the new man in Hana's mother's life. The story takes various twists and turns (there is a two-year time jump in the middle) but is very tightly woven.
Why: It is almost dream-like in its intensity and in its images of snow, alienation, and close-ups of Yoon-Suh and Hana's eyes. Throw in a love story that made me bawl, one of the coolest (and hottest) male characters ever, and so much longing the screen almost explodes, and you have ToH. I marathonned it in a day and a half, despite being sick, despite the subs of my initial copy being engrish. So amazing.
Favorite Scene: Yoon-Suh, on his knees, begging that mobster to stab him, because the alternative is that mobster going after Hana.
Vid:
Unspoilery (and shippy):
Spoilery (and shippy):
(7) DELIGHTFUL GIRL CHUN-HYANG (2005) (17 episodes)
Starring: Han Chae-Young, Jae Hee
Plot: A modern, tongue-in-cheek retelling of the classic story of ChunHyang. Our heroine, Chun Hyang, is a brainy, future valeditorian daughter of a small town singer. Our hero, Mong Ryong, is a good natured slacker son of a bigwig prosecutor who moves to this small town. The two meet, become friends, and...to say more would be to ruin it.
Why: One of the most delicious, delightful OTPs ever (think kdrama version of Ron and Hermione, really). An incredibly feminist drama (arguably most feminist kdrama I've seen), with a hero who is yet, not in the least less masculine or a wimp. So much funniness and some totally heart-breaking scenes. It's by the same people who did My Girl.
Favorite Scene: He finds her diary. To say more would be to spoil it. I literally shrieked at that point.
Vid:
Funny:
Angsty:
(8) SAVE THE LAST DANCE FOR ME (2004) (20 episodes)
Starring: Eugene, Ji Sung
Plot: Kang Hyon-Woo is the only son of the autocratic Chaiman Kang. His family wants him to train up in the business, and oh yes, marry a nicely suitable girl like Yoon Soo-Jin However, he has little interest in succeeding his father, preferring instead to concentrate on photography, which clearly does not make family happy. Ji Eun-Soo and her world couldn't be more different from Hyon-Woo's. She is the daughter of a tourist inn-keeper in a very small village far away from Seoul, the kind of place where everyone knows everyone else. She is uninhibited, a bit bossy, and totally a darling. Eun-Soo and Hyon-Woo would have never met, if Hyon-Woo hadn't met with a string of horrible circumstances after storming out of his house in a tearing rage after a fight with his father. When Eun-Soo and her literally almost run over the wounded, bleeding, disoriented Hyon-Woo on the road, they take him to the local hospital. Of course, this is a kdrama, and it turns out that Hyon-Woo will be fine after surgery, but he does not remember who he is, and he has no identifying documents. Oh, and his family thinks he is dead (plot reasons) so are not looking for him. Because Eun-Soo's father is really nice, he thinks it might be OK to take the wounded, nameless guy back to their inn, but Eun-Soo isn't so sure...
Why: StLDfM is the quintessential romantic melodrama, with the committed OTP with great chemistry, a good solid story, gorgeous and loveable leads, and some swoony romantic moments. I loved it to bits.
Favorite Moment: She has submitted her resignation letter and he comes to find her and begs her not to leave and we realize, fully, that he has fallen in love with her just as madly as he has been before, all over again, without recognizing her.
Vid:
Shippy:
More shippy:
(9) SNOW QUEEN (2006) (16 episodes)
Starring: Hyun Bin, Sung Yuri
Plot: A young math prodigy, haunted by a suicide of a close friend. A high-strung rich girl, sick since childhood, who knows she has only a few years left to live. Who knew this could make a delicate, uplifting, gorgeous love story? The makers of SQ, that's who.
Why: The colors. Oh, the colors in this: pale and clear and true. And the fast pace, and the nuanced characters, who don't speak much but convey a lot. One of my favorite love stories ever, somehow unsappy despite the topic. And oh, oh, OH, Hyun Bin.
Favorite Scene: Sung Yuri is in the hospital and Hyun Bin has to pretend it's OK, but he steps out to fill the water jar for her, and stands in the bathroom, water overflowing, clutching it, his eyes fixed unswervingly, blindly, on the mirror.
Vid:
General:
Shippy:
(10) HONG GIL DONG (2008) (24 episodes)
Starring: Kang Ji Hwan, Sung Yuri
Plot: A Korean take on the Robin Hood story, very loosely based on the earliest Korean-language novel, HGD follows the story of Gil Dong, bastard offspring of a minister and a slave, who stumbles onto the path to heroism.
Why: HGD manages combine hilariousness and deep angst, politics and romance, comedy and action. It's a bleak and cynical yet darkly funny take on privilege and society, with a hero who grows and changes, and secondary characters who you love (or love to hate). Somehow, in-between all that, it manages to sneak in points about narrative power, idealism, ends/means interaction, and the relationships between heros and those they proclaim they want to save. It has also replaced Robin of Sherwood as my favorite retelling of the Robin Hood legend.
Favorite Moment: Gil Dong confronts the mad King.
Vid:
General:
Shippy, eps 1-18:
(11) HELLO MY TEACHER (2005) (16 episodes)
Starring: Gong Hyo Jin, Gong Yoo
Plot: Formerly a huge trouble-maker and gang leader, 25-year-old Na Bori has been expelled from school but has since put her life on track, graduated from school and university, and is now determined to teach at the same high school which kicked her out. In part, to prove she 'made good,' but in larger part because she used to have a crush on her art teacher Ji Hyun-Woo and hey, work and crush? Perfect combination. But the price? Tutoring Tae-In, the troubled, delinquent 19-year old stepson of the Principal, for whom this is a last chance to avoid the loony bin (his family is awful, indeed). Neither Bori nor Tae-In are keen on the idea (their first meeting was only eclipsed by their second, in terms of mutual dislike) but hey, they are both stuck. Things go from there. Does Bori get the attention of her long ago crush? Does she become an untraditional teacher with great fighting skills and problem solving abilities? Does the delinquent leader with family issues fall for her? Oh, so much love.
Why: It is hilarious and yet touching, fast-paced, with tons of secondary characters I love, a great great heroine, a hero that is so my type (troubled violent funny guy with messed-up family), is teacher/student and is just...guuuuh-worthy. Plus, Gong Yoo!
Favorite Moment: When Tae-In decorates her whole doorway with roses. Or the bit with the feet.
Vid:
General:
Shippy:
(12) COFFEE PRINCE (2007) (17 episodes)
Starring: Gong Yoo, Yoon Eun-Hye
Plot: YEH is a very tomboyish girl who gets mistaken (understandably) for a boy by a coffee shop owner (Gong Yoo), who at first hires her to pretend to be his bf (so the family would stop match-making him) and then hires her to work in his store. But soon, the manager discovers he is beginning to have feelings for the boy. OMG! What to do! Why, revel in het slash, of course.
Why: You know, if it ended shortly after ep 13-14 or so, it probably would have been my number 1 drama. But they really continued it for too long. Now, I loved all of the 17 episodes, but it did get a bit draggy at the end, ergo it's number 8 spot. Still, it's gut-bustingly hilarious, rather subversive, quite original, with an OTP that makes me weak at the knees, secondary characters every single one of which I love, and best of all, Gong Yoo, making me swoon. Oh, and such awesome kissing scenes!
Favorite Scene: Gong Yoo asks for a hug. You know the scene.
Vid:
Funny one:
Shippy one that made me squee:
(13) FULL HOUSE (2004) (16 episodes)
Starring: Rain, Song Hye Kyo
Plot: A fanfic author (OK, internet novelist) is scammed out of her house by her 'friends.' Said house is bought by a very famous, rather childish star (Rain) and due to a combination of circumstances too funny and too cute to spoil, they end up sharing the house. LOLness and OTPness ensue.
Why: This was the first kdrama I ever saw, and one that hooked me on the rest. It's incredibly funny, has an OTP to die for, it made me tear up and squee and yell at TV and is just...perfect. "Aza Aza Fighting" used to be my cell greeting for a really long time.
Favorite Scene: The one with the roses. Dozens and dozens and dozens.
Vid:
Shippy sweetness:
Cute funny one mark 2:
(14) SOMETHING HAPPENED IN BALI (2004) (20 episodes)
Starring: Ha Ji Won, Jo In Sung, So Ji Sub
Plot: The heroine, poor and with not much family to call her own, gets entangled with two very different men: an ambitious working-class 'icy' type, played by SJS, and the dysfunctional, temperamental rich one, played by JIS. Nothing good to anybody comes of it.
Why: How could I have a list without one of those 'traditional' kdramas, a kdrama everybody thinks of, when they think kdrama: love triangles, sad endings, rich guy/poor girl, etc. What really makes it work for me, as opposed to a lot of other 'traditional' kdramas I've watched, is two things: (a) the grinding innobility of poverty, as shown here and (b) Jo In Sung's character, a dysfunctional, abused rich boy, who makes me think of a darker VM's Logan and turns the whole story into a much darker version of Hana Yori Dango. Plus, the kissing against the wall scene! MMMM.
Favorite Scene: Kissing against the wall with JIS and HJW, when she comes to his apartment.
Vid:
Jo In Sung/Ha Ji Won characters shippy vid (skip the last ten seconds, as they are spoilery):
Very spoilery:
(15) ONE FINE DAY (2006) (16 episodes)
Starring: Gong Yoo, Sung Yuri
Plot: Haneul is a child of an unwed mother, who married the father of Seo Gun. Thus, they are stepsiblings, but only for a brief period of time, as when they are still children, all parental figures keel over and they are separated. Haneul is adopted by a wealthy family in the midst of which she still feels alienated. Gun ends up as a 'son' of a small-time, broke family which desperately needs money. When they are adults their paths cross when Gun has to extort money from Haneul. But of course, they begin to fall in love...
Why: Beautifully filmed and rather nuanced, I admit I am in this for the OTP. Gun and Ha Neul are one of the most inevitable OTPs ever, two halves of the same soul, really, and you believe they cannot live without each other. Gong Yoo and Sung Yuri have awesome chemistry, btw.
Favorite Moment: They have that perfect day out together, in a small sea-side town. Or when she thanks him and kisses his face, all over, in the bus stop. Or 'Ha Neul's Gun'
Vid:
MV:
Kissing scene:
(16) DAMO (2003) (14 episodes)
Starring: Lee Seo Jin, Ha Ji Won
Plot: Set in medieval Korea, this 14 episode drama follows a 'damo' (tea servant) to a police commander, and investigations of counterfeiting, complex politics and family history, and unspoken love.
Why: It's incredibly hard to explain why Damo is so amazing (it has quite a cult status in Korea). It has to be seen to be believed. Not only is it filmed like a movie, it manages the feat of having a complex plot that does not revolve around romance, and yet being one of the most passionate love stories I've seen, at the same time. The heroine, Chae-Ok, is probably the strongest kdrama heroine I've seen, emotionally and fight-wise. No damsels in distress here. And Commander Hwangbo Yoon, the police Lord she 'serves' is one of my all-time fictional crushes. Their story kills me about eighteen million ways. Oh, and how could I forget the charismatic, mysterious rebel leader, Sang-Baek. It's only not higher because a few secondary characters weren't as interesting as they should have been, and because...well...that would be spoilery.
Favorite Scene: Tent scene.
Vid:
This one almost made me cry:
Wonderful but very spoilery:
(17) QUE SERA SERA
Starring: Eric Mun, Jung Yu Mi, Yoon Ji Hye, and Lee Kyu Han
Plot: The Plot involves the entanglement of four rather messed-up characters: Kang Tae Joo is someone who has always been able to pick up women because of his killer looks. Not that he gets emotionally invested: hard-headed and cynical, his women have to be well-off and generous as, while he is not a gigolo, a gift or three will never go amiss. Han Eun Soo is none of the things Tae Joo prefers in his women: she is not elegant, rich, or poised. And yet their paths cross and they end up falling in love. Could he give up what he normally wants for her though, especially, considering he is also contract-dating Cha Hye Lin a rich, brittle hottie. And then there is Shin Joon Hyuk who ends up involved with all other three and might just end up being Eun Soo's rebound choice.
Why: Gorgeous filters, complicated people (not always nice but always interesting), more dysfunctional passion than you can ever want. So good.
Favorite Moment: When Tae Joo is banging his head on the bar. Or when he forces his way into her room and the scene which follows.
Vid:
Shippy:
Another one:
(18) TIME BETWEEN DOG AND WOLF (2007) (16 episodes)
Starring: Lee Jun Ki, Nam Sang Mi
Plot: Lee Jun-Ki plays a special ops agent, who is beyond messed-up because of severe and horrifying childhood trauma. When he is asked to go undercover, to infiltrate the gang which killed his policewoman mom, things don't get any better. And then there is his one breath of sanity, his OTP, an art curator and childhood love. Neither of them know (but we do) that her father is the one responsible for his parents' death.
Why: Sharply-paced and twisty, this is a rare drama that I love which is not primarily a romance (though the romance is awesome). D/W is bound to satisfy anybody's h/c kink (and LJK is incredibly hot) and I love the main character, some sort of a drama Lymond: clever and high-strung, and so incredibly messed-up.
Favorite Moment: To save and protect his OTP, Lee Jun Ki has to convince her he is not who she thinks he is, and manhandles her and she walks away in disgust and he is falling into pieces in his car. Mmmm. Or the one where he tries to kill himself. Or the cooking/kissage near the end.
Vid:
General:
Shippy:
(19) LOVERS (2006) (20 episodes)
Starring: Lee Seo Jin, Kim Jung Eun
Plot: He is a mobster who is trying to go straight, she is a plastic surgeon. Can their love be?
Why: A rare 'grown-up' romance, it's the little subtle moments (the way he holds her hands, the way she sneaks looks at him) that stay with me. And so do the characters, older than the usual drama protagonists yet somehow even more alive for that.
Favorite Moment: Kissing/lovemaking scene in ep 19. What? leave me alone.
Vid:
Shippy:
Another shippy:
Make-out scene:
(20) SMILE AGAIN (2006) (16 episodes)
Starring: Lee Dong Gun, Kim Hee Sun, Lee Jin Wook
Plot: Playing somewhat against type, Lee Dong Gun is Ban Ha Jin, an orphan from a truly horrible background. He meets Dan Hui, a tough, tomboyish baseball player, when a rich kid gets Ha Jin to date Dan Hui as a prank because Ha Jin is desperate to get money for college. Only…he ends up falling in love for real. The relationship is interrupted when Ha Jin has to go on the run with Yoo Kang, a troubled abused girl he befriended, in order to protect her. Now, it’s quite a few years later, and Ha Jin, hardened by his life, and Dan Hui, out of college, still warm and spunky (and still mad at Ha Jin) meet again. And then there is Jae Myung, a former baseball star and Dan Hui’s hero, who has been crippled by an injury. Dan Hui sees him as someone to save and Ha Jin sees him as a meal ticket…
Why: This is a more functional version of Talented Mr. Riply in some ways. I love that the main character can be quite dark and that the heroine is strong and whole. I love the understatedness and the chemistry, and the fact that I love all four main characters.
Favorite Moment: When LDG finds out the truth about secondary girl. To say more would be to spoil.
Vid:
Shippy:
More shippy:
(20 tie) BEAUTIFUL DAYS (2001) (24 episodes)
Starring: Lee Byung-Hun, Choi Ji Woo
Plot: CJW moves to Seoul and becomes the focus of rivalry between two very different and haunted brothers. But her hear belongs to the eldest, the icy woobie LBH. Throw in family secrets, a terminal illness, and a weeping scene or dozen, and we are set. Kinda like Bali, only without the homicides :)
Why: Like Save the Last Dance, BD is a 'pure romance' type drama )by that I mean that it's a very romantic-focused drama, if it makes any sense). The OTP is strong and interesting (and never waivers) and their interactions are very grown-up and yet make me squee. Icy and having trouble with expressing himself, yet not dysfunctional, is a type I love, and the heroine, despite being very traditional, is no push-over. The secondary characters often make me want to strangle them (which is why this isn't higher) but the maturity of the main storyline is wonderful.
Favorite Moment: When he finds out the truth about his father and holes up in the hotel, falling apart and finally calling her.
Vid:
Gorgeous shippy MV:
As a free benny, what is my least favorite kdrama? My Love Patzzi. ARGH. Only ten episodes but an eternity of torture. It's not even so bad it's good, it's just plain bad. I have never finished and you can't make me. Unless you promise me dinner with Kang Ji Hwan.
So behind the cut are 20 (actually 21, because of a tie) of my favorite kdramas, with summaries, reasons why, pics and vids. I have tried to keep it as unspoilery as possible.
No kdrama I have not finished is on the list because I want to have seen the complete drama before evaluating the fave status (possible future candidates to be put in that aren't there because of it are Mawang and MISA). Also, I watch a lot of dramas, but I have hardly seen all or most kdrama out there, and there are some very famous ones I have never seen. I am always open to recs and am always looking for said recs.
Now, without too much further verbosity, Dangermousie's 20 or so favorite kdramas list, new and improved.
(1) THE LEGEND (2007) (24 episodes)
Starring: Bae Yong Joon, Li Ji Ah, Moon So Ri, Yoon Tae Young, Lee Phillip
Plot: 2000 years before the story started, a god came down to earth to create a prosperous and large land of 'Jooshin.' It didn't really work out, the land fractured, and the god left, leaving behind four sacred symbols which have supernatural properties, and which can only be activated by 'the Jooshin King,' a prophesied individual who will be able to control them and reunite Jooshin. Fast-forward to the 'present' and the contentious, poisonous court of a small nation of Gogureyo. Our main character, Dam Deok, is (or maybe not) the prophesied Jooshin King. He is, however, also a neglected prince of the nation, whose father is a weak ruler who tries to protect his son from the powerful Yon family (who married the King's sister and who believe their own son. Ho Gae, a talented and warlike individual, is the true Jooshin King) by asking him to pretend to be stupid and weak. Will Dam Deok ever realize who he is? Will he reunite Jooshin? Find the symbols and their guardians? Fight off the Hwachun, a supernatural tribe that also eagerly awaits the return of the Jooshin King, but for its own, nepharious purposes? Will he find friendship and love and heartbreak? Yes, of course. And what about the supposed guardians of the four symbols, especially two women who do not know they are sisters (Kiha, kidnapped by the Hwachun and brought up to be a fire priestess, and Sujini, a tomboy, hard-drinking archer), and either one of whom not only possesses the power over the most dangerous symbol of all, but can also end the world with her power?
Why: This drama has finally replaced Mars as my favorite drama of all time. If you know me, and my Mars love, that is quite a feat. It is incredibly complicated and cleverly written, coming across as an adaptation of a really superb fantasy novel (it isn’t, it’s an original script). It is heroic fantasy that never forgets its characters and relationships in going for big battles and it is a character study that never forgets adrenaline and eye-popping visuals in its depiction of complicated people. It has romance, battles, humor, strong women, amazing men, and arguably my favorite drama hero of all time. And oh, the gorgeous understatedness of the OTP!
Favorite Moment: Either the polo game, thye fight with Ho Gae, Dam Deok and the enemies in the small town, DD riding into an enemy fortress alone to get Sujini out, the scene with Sujini putting the armor on him before leaving, the scene when he finds her again. OK, clearly too many.
Vid:
Dam Deok/Sujini MV:
Click to viewGeneral MV:
(2) CAPITAL SCANDAL (2007) (16 episodes)
Starring: Kang Ji Hwan, Han Ji Min, Ryu Jin, Han Go Eun
Plot: In 1930s Korea under Japanese occupation, the dapper Sun Woo Wan, arguably the Capital's biggest flirt, crosses paths with the idealistic, old-fashioned book-seller/teacher Yeo Kyong. Yeo Kyong is someone who wants to join the rebel underground, someone unswerving and as involved in the world as Wan is not. But after a series of chance, hilarious, unlucky encounters with her, Wan makes a bet when drunk with his friends: he will transform the unfashionable Yeo Kyong into a 'proper' girl. Or will he be transformed instead?
Why: This is the drama that finally joined My Girl at the top spot. How come? It's lightning-paced, both hilarious and heart-breaking, clever and emotionally pitch-perfect. There are no love triangles, but two awesome love stories, and friendships, and family bonds, and rebellion. It is, simply, one of the best things you will ever see.
Favorite Moment: Wan teaching Yeo Kyong to waltz.
Vid:
Wan/Yeo Kyung:
General:
(2 tie) MY GIRL (2005) (16 episodes)
Starring: Lee Da Hae, Lee Dong Wook, Lee Jun Ki, Park Si Yeon
Plot: Our heroine, Yu-Rin, is plucky and resourceful. She has to be, what with lack of stability courtesy of a good-natured but useless father. One day, her paths cross with Gong-Chan, the manager of the super lux hotel, and the member of the upper crust. Gong-Chan is serious, driven, reserved and a bit of a workaholic, nice but nobody's fool. He is also a very good grandson to a dying grandfather, whose last days he is trying to make happy by locating the Old Gentleman's long lost granddaughter (Gong-Chan's cousin), daughter of Gong-Chan's aunt whom Grandpa disowned on her hasty marriage. and Gong-Chan is feeling hopeless with no leads at all, desperate enough to maybe hire someone for the role...
Why: It is madcap funny, it is heart-breaking, it never slows down its pace, the heroine is beyond adorable, and the hero very functional, and is that rare type of somewhat serious and stable but yet awesome. And oh, my OTP. They own me like very few OTPs do. And then there is also Lee Jun Ki being so perfect.
Favorite Scene: Gong-Chan telling Yu-Rin he didn't leave for Jeju because he is 'snowed in' and the whole surrounding scene.
Vid:
Gong-Chan/Yu-Rin. One of my fave OTPs ever:
General:
(4) A LOVE TO KILL (2005) (16 episodes)
Starring: Rain, Shin Min Ah
Plot: Bokgu (Rain) is a lowlife boxer, who decides to get close to and ruin a young actress, ES, to avenge the fact that his brother was supposedly toyed with by her and ended up in a coma because of her (which isn't true but he doesn't know it). But of course he falls in love with her himself.
Why: Not only is it one of the most gorgeously shot and acted dramas out there, but its harshness ,and yet romantic intensity and beauty reminded me of one of those 19th century Russian novels I used to read. This is seriously incredible.
Favorite Scene: He is being beaten into unconsciousness by goons and she tries to shield him so they start whaling on her, so even though he is barely conscious, he rolls over to shield her with his own body.
Vid:
General:
Shippy:
(5) GOONG (2006) (24 episodes)
(no, the baby is not a spoiler. It was one of those 'what if' fantasy inserts they did)
Starring: Joo Ji-Hoon, Yoon Eun-Hye, Kim Jeong Hoon, Song Ji Hyo
Plot: In this AU world, where Korea is a constitutional monarchy, plucky and sweet but not brainiac commoner Chae-Gyung (YEH) finds out she is actually betrothed to her co-student, the haughty, reserved Prince Shin (JJH). A lovely fate except not only is life in the palace something no normal person would want, being rigid and confining, but Chae-Gyung just overheard the Prince propose to another woman. Can the bubbly, cheerful Chae-Gyung and the withdrawn, sarcastic Shin ever learn to tolerate each other, let alone fall in love? What do you think?
Why: Goong can always make me smile. seriously. It is just an automatic mood booster. YEH is one of the most adorable, lovable heroines out in the drama world, and JJH is not only scarily good-looking, but it totally my fictional type: a dysfunctionally icy woobie. In fact, I came for Chae-Gyung but stayed for Shin, who has a wonderful character gradual reveal and growth. I am such a sucker for extravert girl saving introvert boy through cheeriness story. Oh, and the girls' costumes! The sets! The kiss to end all kisses! It does get a bit draggy in the middle, but not much, and hey, you can always stare at the art design during those times.
Favorite Scene: I will be like every fangirl out there, and say THE KISS. You know which one I mean.
Vid:
A very sweet Shin/CG one:
Another adorable one. Oh, they are so one of my major OTPs.
(6) TREE OF HEAVEN (2006) (10 episodes)
(still courtesy of alexandral)
Starring: Lee Wan, Park Shin Hye
Plot: This angsty, gorgeously-filmed short drama, set in Japan, tells the story of a forbidden, and ultimately doomed, attraction between two brand-new stepsiblings: perky, half-Korean Hana, 18 when the story starts, and her brand-new stepbrother, the mute, odd Yoon-Suh, 20-year-old Korean son of the new man in Hana's mother's life. The story takes various twists and turns (there is a two-year time jump in the middle) but is very tightly woven.
Why: It is almost dream-like in its intensity and in its images of snow, alienation, and close-ups of Yoon-Suh and Hana's eyes. Throw in a love story that made me bawl, one of the coolest (and hottest) male characters ever, and so much longing the screen almost explodes, and you have ToH. I marathonned it in a day and a half, despite being sick, despite the subs of my initial copy being engrish. So amazing.
Favorite Scene: Yoon-Suh, on his knees, begging that mobster to stab him, because the alternative is that mobster going after Hana.
Vid:
Unspoilery (and shippy):
Spoilery (and shippy):
(7) DELIGHTFUL GIRL CHUN-HYANG (2005) (17 episodes)
Starring: Han Chae-Young, Jae Hee
Plot: A modern, tongue-in-cheek retelling of the classic story of ChunHyang. Our heroine, Chun Hyang, is a brainy, future valeditorian daughter of a small town singer. Our hero, Mong Ryong, is a good natured slacker son of a bigwig prosecutor who moves to this small town. The two meet, become friends, and...to say more would be to ruin it.
Why: One of the most delicious, delightful OTPs ever (think kdrama version of Ron and Hermione, really). An incredibly feminist drama (arguably most feminist kdrama I've seen), with a hero who is yet, not in the least less masculine or a wimp. So much funniness and some totally heart-breaking scenes. It's by the same people who did My Girl.
Favorite Scene: He finds her diary. To say more would be to spoil it. I literally shrieked at that point.
Vid:
Funny:
Angsty:
(8) SAVE THE LAST DANCE FOR ME (2004) (20 episodes)
Starring: Eugene, Ji Sung
Plot: Kang Hyon-Woo is the only son of the autocratic Chaiman Kang. His family wants him to train up in the business, and oh yes, marry a nicely suitable girl like Yoon Soo-Jin However, he has little interest in succeeding his father, preferring instead to concentrate on photography, which clearly does not make family happy. Ji Eun-Soo and her world couldn't be more different from Hyon-Woo's. She is the daughter of a tourist inn-keeper in a very small village far away from Seoul, the kind of place where everyone knows everyone else. She is uninhibited, a bit bossy, and totally a darling. Eun-Soo and Hyon-Woo would have never met, if Hyon-Woo hadn't met with a string of horrible circumstances after storming out of his house in a tearing rage after a fight with his father. When Eun-Soo and her literally almost run over the wounded, bleeding, disoriented Hyon-Woo on the road, they take him to the local hospital. Of course, this is a kdrama, and it turns out that Hyon-Woo will be fine after surgery, but he does not remember who he is, and he has no identifying documents. Oh, and his family thinks he is dead (plot reasons) so are not looking for him. Because Eun-Soo's father is really nice, he thinks it might be OK to take the wounded, nameless guy back to their inn, but Eun-Soo isn't so sure...
Why: StLDfM is the quintessential romantic melodrama, with the committed OTP with great chemistry, a good solid story, gorgeous and loveable leads, and some swoony romantic moments. I loved it to bits.
Favorite Moment: She has submitted her resignation letter and he comes to find her and begs her not to leave and we realize, fully, that he has fallen in love with her just as madly as he has been before, all over again, without recognizing her.
Vid:
Shippy:
More shippy:
(9) SNOW QUEEN (2006) (16 episodes)
Starring: Hyun Bin, Sung Yuri
Plot: A young math prodigy, haunted by a suicide of a close friend. A high-strung rich girl, sick since childhood, who knows she has only a few years left to live. Who knew this could make a delicate, uplifting, gorgeous love story? The makers of SQ, that's who.
Why: The colors. Oh, the colors in this: pale and clear and true. And the fast pace, and the nuanced characters, who don't speak much but convey a lot. One of my favorite love stories ever, somehow unsappy despite the topic. And oh, oh, OH, Hyun Bin.
Favorite Scene: Sung Yuri is in the hospital and Hyun Bin has to pretend it's OK, but he steps out to fill the water jar for her, and stands in the bathroom, water overflowing, clutching it, his eyes fixed unswervingly, blindly, on the mirror.
Vid:
General:
Shippy:
(10) HONG GIL DONG (2008) (24 episodes)
Starring: Kang Ji Hwan, Sung Yuri
Plot: A Korean take on the Robin Hood story, very loosely based on the earliest Korean-language novel, HGD follows the story of Gil Dong, bastard offspring of a minister and a slave, who stumbles onto the path to heroism.
Why: HGD manages combine hilariousness and deep angst, politics and romance, comedy and action. It's a bleak and cynical yet darkly funny take on privilege and society, with a hero who grows and changes, and secondary characters who you love (or love to hate). Somehow, in-between all that, it manages to sneak in points about narrative power, idealism, ends/means interaction, and the relationships between heros and those they proclaim they want to save. It has also replaced Robin of Sherwood as my favorite retelling of the Robin Hood legend.
Favorite Moment: Gil Dong confronts the mad King.
Vid:
General:
Shippy, eps 1-18:
(11) HELLO MY TEACHER (2005) (16 episodes)
Starring: Gong Hyo Jin, Gong Yoo
Plot: Formerly a huge trouble-maker and gang leader, 25-year-old Na Bori has been expelled from school but has since put her life on track, graduated from school and university, and is now determined to teach at the same high school which kicked her out. In part, to prove she 'made good,' but in larger part because she used to have a crush on her art teacher Ji Hyun-Woo and hey, work and crush? Perfect combination. But the price? Tutoring Tae-In, the troubled, delinquent 19-year old stepson of the Principal, for whom this is a last chance to avoid the loony bin (his family is awful, indeed). Neither Bori nor Tae-In are keen on the idea (their first meeting was only eclipsed by their second, in terms of mutual dislike) but hey, they are both stuck. Things go from there. Does Bori get the attention of her long ago crush? Does she become an untraditional teacher with great fighting skills and problem solving abilities? Does the delinquent leader with family issues fall for her? Oh, so much love.
Why: It is hilarious and yet touching, fast-paced, with tons of secondary characters I love, a great great heroine, a hero that is so my type (troubled violent funny guy with messed-up family), is teacher/student and is just...guuuuh-worthy. Plus, Gong Yoo!
Favorite Moment: When Tae-In decorates her whole doorway with roses. Or the bit with the feet.
Vid:
General:
Shippy:
(12) COFFEE PRINCE (2007) (17 episodes)
Starring: Gong Yoo, Yoon Eun-Hye
Plot: YEH is a very tomboyish girl who gets mistaken (understandably) for a boy by a coffee shop owner (Gong Yoo), who at first hires her to pretend to be his bf (so the family would stop match-making him) and then hires her to work in his store. But soon, the manager discovers he is beginning to have feelings for the boy. OMG! What to do! Why, revel in het slash, of course.
Why: You know, if it ended shortly after ep 13-14 or so, it probably would have been my number 1 drama. But they really continued it for too long. Now, I loved all of the 17 episodes, but it did get a bit draggy at the end, ergo it's number 8 spot. Still, it's gut-bustingly hilarious, rather subversive, quite original, with an OTP that makes me weak at the knees, secondary characters every single one of which I love, and best of all, Gong Yoo, making me swoon. Oh, and such awesome kissing scenes!
Favorite Scene: Gong Yoo asks for a hug. You know the scene.
Vid:
Funny one:
Shippy one that made me squee:
(13) FULL HOUSE (2004) (16 episodes)
Starring: Rain, Song Hye Kyo
Plot: A fanfic author (OK, internet novelist) is scammed out of her house by her 'friends.' Said house is bought by a very famous, rather childish star (Rain) and due to a combination of circumstances too funny and too cute to spoil, they end up sharing the house. LOLness and OTPness ensue.
Why: This was the first kdrama I ever saw, and one that hooked me on the rest. It's incredibly funny, has an OTP to die for, it made me tear up and squee and yell at TV and is just...perfect. "Aza Aza Fighting" used to be my cell greeting for a really long time.
Favorite Scene: The one with the roses. Dozens and dozens and dozens.
Vid:
Shippy sweetness:
Cute funny one mark 2:
(14) SOMETHING HAPPENED IN BALI (2004) (20 episodes)
Starring: Ha Ji Won, Jo In Sung, So Ji Sub
Plot: The heroine, poor and with not much family to call her own, gets entangled with two very different men: an ambitious working-class 'icy' type, played by SJS, and the dysfunctional, temperamental rich one, played by JIS. Nothing good to anybody comes of it.
Why: How could I have a list without one of those 'traditional' kdramas, a kdrama everybody thinks of, when they think kdrama: love triangles, sad endings, rich guy/poor girl, etc. What really makes it work for me, as opposed to a lot of other 'traditional' kdramas I've watched, is two things: (a) the grinding innobility of poverty, as shown here and (b) Jo In Sung's character, a dysfunctional, abused rich boy, who makes me think of a darker VM's Logan and turns the whole story into a much darker version of Hana Yori Dango. Plus, the kissing against the wall scene! MMMM.
Favorite Scene: Kissing against the wall with JIS and HJW, when she comes to his apartment.
Vid:
Jo In Sung/Ha Ji Won characters shippy vid (skip the last ten seconds, as they are spoilery):
Very spoilery:
(15) ONE FINE DAY (2006) (16 episodes)
Starring: Gong Yoo, Sung Yuri
Plot: Haneul is a child of an unwed mother, who married the father of Seo Gun. Thus, they are stepsiblings, but only for a brief period of time, as when they are still children, all parental figures keel over and they are separated. Haneul is adopted by a wealthy family in the midst of which she still feels alienated. Gun ends up as a 'son' of a small-time, broke family which desperately needs money. When they are adults their paths cross when Gun has to extort money from Haneul. But of course, they begin to fall in love...
Why: Beautifully filmed and rather nuanced, I admit I am in this for the OTP. Gun and Ha Neul are one of the most inevitable OTPs ever, two halves of the same soul, really, and you believe they cannot live without each other. Gong Yoo and Sung Yuri have awesome chemistry, btw.
Favorite Moment: They have that perfect day out together, in a small sea-side town. Or when she thanks him and kisses his face, all over, in the bus stop. Or 'Ha Neul's Gun'
Vid:
MV:
Kissing scene:
(16) DAMO (2003) (14 episodes)
Starring: Lee Seo Jin, Ha Ji Won
Plot: Set in medieval Korea, this 14 episode drama follows a 'damo' (tea servant) to a police commander, and investigations of counterfeiting, complex politics and family history, and unspoken love.
Why: It's incredibly hard to explain why Damo is so amazing (it has quite a cult status in Korea). It has to be seen to be believed. Not only is it filmed like a movie, it manages the feat of having a complex plot that does not revolve around romance, and yet being one of the most passionate love stories I've seen, at the same time. The heroine, Chae-Ok, is probably the strongest kdrama heroine I've seen, emotionally and fight-wise. No damsels in distress here. And Commander Hwangbo Yoon, the police Lord she 'serves' is one of my all-time fictional crushes. Their story kills me about eighteen million ways. Oh, and how could I forget the charismatic, mysterious rebel leader, Sang-Baek. It's only not higher because a few secondary characters weren't as interesting as they should have been, and because...well...that would be spoilery.
Favorite Scene: Tent scene.
Vid:
This one almost made me cry:
Wonderful but very spoilery:
(17) QUE SERA SERA
Starring: Eric Mun, Jung Yu Mi, Yoon Ji Hye, and Lee Kyu Han
Plot: The Plot involves the entanglement of four rather messed-up characters: Kang Tae Joo is someone who has always been able to pick up women because of his killer looks. Not that he gets emotionally invested: hard-headed and cynical, his women have to be well-off and generous as, while he is not a gigolo, a gift or three will never go amiss. Han Eun Soo is none of the things Tae Joo prefers in his women: she is not elegant, rich, or poised. And yet their paths cross and they end up falling in love. Could he give up what he normally wants for her though, especially, considering he is also contract-dating Cha Hye Lin a rich, brittle hottie. And then there is Shin Joon Hyuk who ends up involved with all other three and might just end up being Eun Soo's rebound choice.
Why: Gorgeous filters, complicated people (not always nice but always interesting), more dysfunctional passion than you can ever want. So good.
Favorite Moment: When Tae Joo is banging his head on the bar. Or when he forces his way into her room and the scene which follows.
Vid:
Shippy:
Another one:
(18) TIME BETWEEN DOG AND WOLF (2007) (16 episodes)
Starring: Lee Jun Ki, Nam Sang Mi
Plot: Lee Jun-Ki plays a special ops agent, who is beyond messed-up because of severe and horrifying childhood trauma. When he is asked to go undercover, to infiltrate the gang which killed his policewoman mom, things don't get any better. And then there is his one breath of sanity, his OTP, an art curator and childhood love. Neither of them know (but we do) that her father is the one responsible for his parents' death.
Why: Sharply-paced and twisty, this is a rare drama that I love which is not primarily a romance (though the romance is awesome). D/W is bound to satisfy anybody's h/c kink (and LJK is incredibly hot) and I love the main character, some sort of a drama Lymond: clever and high-strung, and so incredibly messed-up.
Favorite Moment: To save and protect his OTP, Lee Jun Ki has to convince her he is not who she thinks he is, and manhandles her and she walks away in disgust and he is falling into pieces in his car. Mmmm. Or the one where he tries to kill himself. Or the cooking/kissage near the end.
Vid:
General:
Shippy:
(19) LOVERS (2006) (20 episodes)
Starring: Lee Seo Jin, Kim Jung Eun
Plot: He is a mobster who is trying to go straight, she is a plastic surgeon. Can their love be?
Why: A rare 'grown-up' romance, it's the little subtle moments (the way he holds her hands, the way she sneaks looks at him) that stay with me. And so do the characters, older than the usual drama protagonists yet somehow even more alive for that.
Favorite Moment: Kissing/lovemaking scene in ep 19. What? leave me alone.
Vid:
Shippy:
Another shippy:
Make-out scene:
(20) SMILE AGAIN (2006) (16 episodes)
Starring: Lee Dong Gun, Kim Hee Sun, Lee Jin Wook
Plot: Playing somewhat against type, Lee Dong Gun is Ban Ha Jin, an orphan from a truly horrible background. He meets Dan Hui, a tough, tomboyish baseball player, when a rich kid gets Ha Jin to date Dan Hui as a prank because Ha Jin is desperate to get money for college. Only…he ends up falling in love for real. The relationship is interrupted when Ha Jin has to go on the run with Yoo Kang, a troubled abused girl he befriended, in order to protect her. Now, it’s quite a few years later, and Ha Jin, hardened by his life, and Dan Hui, out of college, still warm and spunky (and still mad at Ha Jin) meet again. And then there is Jae Myung, a former baseball star and Dan Hui’s hero, who has been crippled by an injury. Dan Hui sees him as someone to save and Ha Jin sees him as a meal ticket…
Why: This is a more functional version of Talented Mr. Riply in some ways. I love that the main character can be quite dark and that the heroine is strong and whole. I love the understatedness and the chemistry, and the fact that I love all four main characters.
Favorite Moment: When LDG finds out the truth about secondary girl. To say more would be to spoil.
Vid:
Shippy:
More shippy:
(20 tie) BEAUTIFUL DAYS (2001) (24 episodes)
Starring: Lee Byung-Hun, Choi Ji Woo
Plot: CJW moves to Seoul and becomes the focus of rivalry between two very different and haunted brothers. But her hear belongs to the eldest, the icy woobie LBH. Throw in family secrets, a terminal illness, and a weeping scene or dozen, and we are set. Kinda like Bali, only without the homicides :)
Why: Like Save the Last Dance, BD is a 'pure romance' type drama )by that I mean that it's a very romantic-focused drama, if it makes any sense). The OTP is strong and interesting (and never waivers) and their interactions are very grown-up and yet make me squee. Icy and having trouble with expressing himself, yet not dysfunctional, is a type I love, and the heroine, despite being very traditional, is no push-over. The secondary characters often make me want to strangle them (which is why this isn't higher) but the maturity of the main storyline is wonderful.
Favorite Moment: When he finds out the truth about his father and holes up in the hotel, falling apart and finally calling her.
Vid:
Gorgeous shippy MV:
As a free benny, what is my least favorite kdrama? My Love Patzzi. ARGH. Only ten episodes but an eternity of torture. It's not even so bad it's good, it's just plain bad. I have never finished and you can't make me. Unless you promise me dinner with Kang Ji Hwan.